Oaklawn Cemetery

Duane's take

The official marker for Oaklawn Cemetery in Delta County tells it this way, and I'm gonna do it justice. Every town has a beginning, and Cooper, Texas is no different. But some beginnings are harder than others.

The very first burials in the city of Cooper were made on a hill west of Dr. J.A. Blackwell's old home.

And the first burial, the one that started it all, was believed to have been the young daughter of Dr. R.C. Andrews.

A child. That's where Cooper's story with death begins. Now, that hillside site soon became undesirable, and the people of Cooper started looking elsewhere.

They needed somewhere better, somewhere lasting. And in 1891, a man named Asa White stepped forward and donated five acres for a cemetery. Five acres, given freely.

Most of the people who had been buried in the old Cooper Cemetery were moved to this new location. That is not a small undertaking, and it says something about how seriously this community took its responsibility to the dead. The oldest existing monument in Oaklawn Cemetery belongs to Mary Cumming, born in 1791, died in 1881.

That stone has outlasted a great deal. For years, the Independent Order of Oddfellows cared for the cemetery and purchased additional land as the community grew. They kept watch over it, kept it going, until Oaklawn Cemetery, Inc. was chartered on November 17, 1959.

And they continue to care for this historic community burial ground to this day. From a hillside west of an old home, to five donated acres, to a chartered organization still tending the grounds. Cooper built something that lasts.

That's the whole point, isn't it.

What the marker says

THE FIRST BURIALS IN THE CITY OF COOPER WERE MADE ON A HILL WEST OF DR. J.A. BLACKWELL'S OLD HOME. THE FIRST BURIAL WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN THE YOUNG DAUGHTER OF DR. R.C. ANDREWS. THE SITE SOON BECAME UNDESIRABLE AND LAND WAS SOUGHT ELSEWHERE. IN 1891, MR. ASA WHITE DONATED FIVE ACRES FOR A CEMETERY. MOST OF THE PEOPLE BURIED IN THE OLD COOPER CEMETERY WERE MOVED TO THIS LOCATION. THE OLDEST EXISTING MONUMENT IS THAT OF MARY CUMMING (1791-1881). THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODDFELLOWS ORGANIZATION CARED FOR THE CEMETERY AND PURCHASED ADDITIONAL LAND UNTIL THE OAKLAWN CEMETERY, INC. WAS CHARTERED ON NOV. 17, 1959. THEY CONTINUE TO CARE FOR THIS HISTORIC COMMUNITY BURIAL GROUND. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY - 2009